Truman Customer Story Column
I Worried It Would End Up an Odd Shape
A considerable share of the questions before gynecomastia surgery are about the shape of the result. People worry less about removal than about how it will be left.
This patient was the same.
The first sentence they wrote in the review begins, "I worried it would end up an odd shape, but…"
It is not an unfounded worry. In this surgery, the contour of the chest changes along with the removal of glandular tissue. Take too much and the center looks hollow; take too little and it remains. That is why how much is removed has to be considered together with what surface is left.
After surgery, this person wrote that they like the result. That is their impression, and results vary with original build, the amount of glandular tissue, and skin elasticity. How quickly swelling subsides also differs, so even after the same surgery, the point at which satisfaction is felt is not the same.
Why the Explanation Runs LongFor their memory of the first visit, they wrote: "The staff were all kind and the explanation was extremely detailed." They also noted that the surgery was handled in a way that kept them from worrying.
There is a reason explanations run long in these consultations. Grade and type divide the approach, and the recovery period and precautions change as well. A case dominated by glandular tissue differs from one that also involves fat, and how much the skin has stretched changes the approach too. Fixing a surgery date without knowing which case you are leads, in the end, to sitting through the explanation again.
Easing tension also happens mostly before the operating room rather than in it. Since the operating surgeon enters after anesthesia is given, the conversations a patient remembers are those from the consulting room and with anesthesiology.
For what would change after surgery, they said, "I don't think I'll be self-conscious when getting dressed."
It is not a lofty goal. Yet it is the change patients mention most often. The calculation repeated every morning in front of the closet growing smaller. Only those who have lived it know the size of that daily thing.
To Those Facing the Same ConcernThis person also left a note that they would recommend it to anyone with the same concern.
That is the experience of one person who had a satisfying course. Whether surgery is needed, and if so which method fits, is something to decide after confirming your condition through an examination. Even when the concern looks the same, the conditions turn out to be quite varied on inspection.
Confirm first; judgment afterward is not too late.
